The year 2021 was better for Polish business development than the previous year, according to data from the Central Statistical Office on business registrations and bankruptcies. In 2021, more than 350,000 new companies were established in Poland, 12.4 percent more than in 2020. At the same time, nearly 30 percent fewer companies went bankrupt - 376 in 2021 compared to 528 a year earlier.

The Central Statistical Office periodically publishes data on business registrations and bankruptcies. A comparison of data from 2020 and 2021 shows that the situation for Polish business is getting better. This is evidenced by both an increase in the registration of new companies and a significant decrease in recorded bankruptcies. This is a result of the improving economy and the support that entrepreneurs received as part of the anti-crisis shields during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Business registrations

In all of 2021, 350,471 companies were registered in Poland, 12.4 percent more than a year earlier, when 311,794 were established. The increases covered most legal forms of business and all sectors of the economy.

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Number of registered enterprises by quarter

2019-2021

Source: GUS

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Legal forms

The dominant legal form of registered companies is sole proprietorships. They account for nearly 83 percent of all registered businesses. This is followed by limited liability companies (14.6 percent) and partnerships (almost 1.5 percent). Only 3,609 (just over 1 percent) of the companies registered in 2021 had another legal form.

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*The following entities are covered: companies provided for by laws other than the Commercial Companies Code and the Civil Code, or legal forms to which the provisions on companies apply; foreign companies; entities without a specific legal form.

Banqup's own elaboration based on GUS data

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Comparing these figures with those of 2020, only limited partnerships and cooperatives registered fewer. In the case of all other legal forms, there was an increase in registered enterprises.

Industries

In the GUS's data, businesses are divided by their dominant type of activity according to the Polish Classification of Activities(PKD 2007) and combined into eight groups.

The largest number of new companies was established in the Services and Construction groups - 75.3 thousand and 71.9 thousand, respectively, each accounting for more than 20 percent of all registered companies. On the other hand, in terms of the highest growth compared to 2020, Information and Communications clearly stands out. Businesses in this area registered nearly 43 percent more in 2021 - 30.3 thousand.

Corporate bankruptcies

As for the number of bankruptcies recorded by the GUS, the situation has also improved. In 2021, there were 376, which accounted for only 0.11 percent of the number of companies registered. A year earlier, there were 528 bankruptcies (0.17 percent of the number registered). 

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Number of bankruptcies by quarter

2019-2021

Source: GUS

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The nearly 30 percent lower number of bankruptcies is tied to the improving economy in 2021 and the financial support that companies received due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic under the so-called crisis shields.

Forms of activity

The vast majority (more than 60 percent) of the companies liquidated in 2021 were limited liability companies. 229 of them were declared bankrupt. A similar fate befell 82 sole proprietors. But compared to 2020, the total number of bankruptcies decreased, and only cooperatives closed more in 2021 - 6, compared to 5 a year earlier.

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Sectors of the economy

Analyzing company bankruptcies by type of business, the Industry and Trade; repair of motor vehicles sections accounted for the largest share in 2021. About ¼ of the bankrupt companies belonged to each of them. At the same time, only 9 companies involved in information and communications were closed, accounting for just over 2 percent of all bankruptcies.

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